I am intending on using RIS to build workstations at remote location, using managed machinesin AD. We currently have Compaq Evo 510 workstations deployed. I know we can find the GUID through the BIOS but am wondering if there is another way to find the machine GUID.
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When you say GUID, what are you talking about? Where does this show up in Bios? It sounds like a job for WMI and some VB Scripts. Usually, the BIOS information OS don't talk. WMI is the bridge. It is possible to write a script to pull information out of BIOS such as serial numbers or CPU temperature.
If you're looking for the machine SID, that's different (and easier). Start by letting us know what (which) guid you're looking for.
Fun things with CIMV2's Win32_SystemEnclosure Object
1. Start | Run | WBEMTEST
2. Connect
3. ROOT\CIMV2 | Connect
4. OPEN CLASS
5. Win32_SystemEnclosure
Scroll through the list for things that WMI knows about that scripts can query / manipulate.
MSDN script library is a good source of using vbscript to talk to WMI
http://msdn.microsoft.com/
etracsupport.
What GUID will that give you? A GUID is a global unique IDentifier. There are literally thousands of them on any machine. The question mentioned that he wanted to use RIS, which poses problems with duplicate SIDs (security identifiers) which is entirely different that a GUID. DickSchlap mentioned that the GUID he was talking about was in the BIOS, which is even more confusing.
Dick?
correct every computer has a machine guid which refers to hardware on the motherboard and references the network card. when you setup ris and want to create a managed computer you need the machine guid off of the computer to create a computer account in active directory which will then automatically join it to the domain and make the ris procedure less work.
20 zeros followed by the MAC. So Dick, are the machines loaded with any OS yet or are they bare? If they do have an OS, you can run IPCONFIG and add 20 zeros to the beginning of the mac address to find out the GUID.
Also, if you do have an OS loaded, you can create a repository of Machines and GUIDs using vbscript and wmi. Or you could write a script with PSEXEC to send the GUID to you. If they don't have an OS loaded that you will need to either go to BIOS, use a boot disk, or capture traffic like etracsupport said. Seems like alot of trouble to find a GUID of a machine. If you have enough information in a Netmon capture, then you probably already know the MAC(GUID), Let us know.
how did we get from GUIDS to MAC addresses with no feedback? LOL
I concur that there are no SIDS in the BIOS :)
Perhaps the poster means the machines SID? You can view a PC's SID in the registry under HKEY_Users (the folder near the end with the long alphanumeric name is the SID)
or use
To find all the SIDS on your network and Identify Conflicts
PSGetSID
http://www.sysinternals.co
The reason for needing the GUID ahead of time, is that it allows you to tell a certain RIS server to respond to a certain machine, and it also allows you to pre-create machine accounts for a specific client. If the machines are being "Reloaded" and already have an OS, then coupled with PSEXEC, this script would return a remote machines GUID.
1. Download PSEXEC from sysinternals at http://www.sysinternals.co
2. Put psexec.exe in your winnt directory
3. Create a batch file which says
psexec.exe \\RemoteComputer ipconfig /all
4. Take the "Physical Address" and remove the dashes.
5. Add 20 zeros to the beginning of the number
6. Add the number to ADUC for a machine to be managed
If your machines are bare and do not already have an OS, then you can't get the GUID without either a) booting them up to PXE and capturing the DHCP ACK packet, or b) booting the machine to BIOS or a boot disk
Thank you for your comments.
Your explanation for needing the GUID is correct. I need remote RIS servers to respond to certain machines where we can set up managed accounts and reload the OS without needing an admin account to do so. For some reason not all of the machines we deployed generated GUIDS. Those that did generate GUIDS, there wasn't an actual logical formula to identify these, but the GUIDS were found on the Remote Install tab in AD Users and Computer properties. Not all were 20 0's followed by the MAC.
For those that did not generate GUIDS, there is no Remote Install tab found in AD Users and Computers properties. I created GUIDS by tacking 20 0's in front of the MAC address and recreated their machine accounts as managed.
There is a UUID in the BIOS, but after further investigation I found these did not match the GUID I was looking for.
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by: jared_lukerPosted on 2004-10-05 at 13:10:32ID: 12230786
A GUID is a unique alpha-numeric string that is generated by windows (either locally or through the domain). There would be no way to get a GUID through the systems bios.
Are you talking about getting the machine name or serial number?
Jared